B2B advertising has evolved. You're no longer just buying impressions. Modern B2B advertising is account-based. You're targeting specific accounts across multiple channels, delivering personalized messaging to buying committees, and measuring pipeline impact. This guide reviews the top B2B advertising platforms companies are using in 2026.
Modern B2B advertising spans multiple channels:
The best B2B advertising programs use multiple channels in a coordinated approach.
LinkedIn is the largest B2B advertising platform with 900M+ professionals.
Why B2B teams choose LinkedIn: - Largest B2B professional network - Sophisticated targeting by role, company, seniority, and interests - Multiple ad formats: sponsored content, text ads, InMail - Strong account-based advertising capabilities (LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms) - Direct integration with CRMs
Strengths: - Largest B2B audience - Strong targeting capabilities - Multiple ad formats - Good for awareness and consideration
Limitations: - High cost per impression relative to display - Limited conversion tracking - Smaller audience than Google or Facebook
Best for: Companies running B2B awareness and consideration campaigns.
Pricing: Cost-per-impression or cost-per-click; typical custom pricing
Terminus is a dedicated account-based advertising platform.
Why B2B teams choose Terminus: - Account-based advertising across multiple channels - Ad network access to display, LinkedIn, video platforms - Identity resolution to identify companies and buying committees - Direct Salesforce and HubSpot integration - Built-in account scoring
Strengths: - Specialized in account-based advertising - Transparent reporting and attribution - Easy implementation - Affordable compared to enterprise platforms
Limitations: - Smaller scale than LinkedIn directly - Limited to ad channel orchestration - Less sophisticated than dedicated demand generation platforms
Best for: Companies emphasizing account-based advertising.
Pricing: Custom pricing depending on ad spend
LinkedIn Matched Audiences lets you upload your own account and contact lists to target on LinkedIn.
Why B2B teams choose Matched Audiences: - Target your specific account lists on LinkedIn - Reach buying committees within your target accounts - Build lookalike audiences - Remarket to website visitors - Combine with LinkedIn's organic content for coordinated campaigns
Strengths: - Reach your exact target accounts on LinkedIn - Integrated with LinkedIn ads - Good for retargeting
Limitations: - Requires list uploads and management - Limited beyond LinkedIn - Doesn't help you discover new accounts
Best for: Companies with well-defined target account lists.
Pricing: Included with LinkedIn Campaign Manager
Rollworks offers account-based advertising with integrated ABM capabilities.
Why B2B teams choose Rollworks: - Account targeting across display, LinkedIn, video, and other channels - Simple account import from Salesforce - Real-time account scoring - Easy dashboard and reporting - Affordable mid-market pricing
Strengths: - Multiple ad channel access - Simple interface - Affordable - Easy to get started
Limitations: - Less sophisticated than Demandbase or 6sense - Smaller scale than LinkedIn directly - Limited advanced features
Best for: Mid-market companies testing account-based advertising.
Pricing: Custom pricing
6sense includes advertising orchestration within its broader platform.
Why B2B teams choose 6sense: - Account-based advertising across channels - Intent data integration - Account scoring and prioritization - AI-driven recommendations for next channels - Revenue orchestration playbooks
Strengths: - Integrated with account scoring and intent - Sophisticated orchestration - Strong for full-funnel ABM
Limitations: - Higher cost - More complex than simple advertising platforms - Requires broader platform adoption
Best for: Enterprise companies running sophisticated account-based campaigns.
Pricing: Custom (typically custom pricing)
Demandbase includes advertising orchestration for account-based campaigns.
Why B2B teams choose Demandbase: - Account-based advertising orchestration - Proprietary account graph - Predictive account scoring - Multi-channel campaign coordination - Deep CRM integration
Strengths: - Most sophisticated account-based advertising - Excellent data and insights - Strong reporting
Limitations: - Expensive - Complex implementation - Requires full platform adoption
Best for: Enterprise companies wanting sophisticated account-based advertising.
Pricing: Custom (typically custom pricing)
Outbrain and Taboola are content discovery platforms offering B2B advertising.
Why B2B teams choose Outbrain/Taboola: - Native advertising format (content recommendations) - Large publisher network - Contextual targeting - Affordable relative to LinkedIn - Good for awareness
Strengths: - Large publisher network - Affordable - High visibility - Good for brand awareness
Limitations: - Limited targeting capabilities relative to LinkedIn - Less sophisticated targeting - Lower conversion rates than LinkedIn
Best for: Companies emphasizing brand awareness and content discovery.
Pricing: Cost-per-click or cost-per-thousand impressions; typically custom pricing
Google Ads is the largest digital advertising platform, increasingly used for B2B.
Why B2B teams choose Google Ads: - Largest search audience - Search and display network - Sophisticated audience targeting - Good for demand capture (intent-based) - Easiest to implement
Strengths: - Largest audience (search) - Intent-based (people searching for solutions) - Multiple formats (search, display, video) - Easy to implement
Limitations: - Less effective for pure brand awareness - Competitive (high costs) - Limited B2B account targeting
Best for: Companies emphasizing demand capture (people actively searching for solutions).
Pricing: Cost-per-click; typical $2-50+ depending on keywords
YouTube is increasingly used for B2B advertising, especially for awareness.
Why B2B teams choose YouTube: - Video content engagement - Sophisticated targeting by interest, demographics, behavior - Multiple video formats (bumpers, in-stream, discovery) - Good for brand awareness and consideration
Strengths: - Large B2B audience - Video engagement - Multiple formats - Affordable
Limitations: - Less sophisticated than LinkedIn for B2B targeting - Lower intent than search advertising - Requires video content
Best for: Companies emphasizing video-based brand awareness.
Pricing: Cost-per-view; typical $0.25-4/view
Industry-specific publications offer B2B advertising.
Why B2B teams choose trade publications: - Industry-specific targeting - Credibility and context - Audience of decision-makers - Sometimes lower cost than LinkedIn
Strengths: - Industry credibility - Engaged audience - Sometimes lower cost
Limitations: - Limited to specific industries - Less sophisticated targeting - Smaller reach than LinkedIn - Often requires manual management
Best for: Industry-specific companies emphasizing credibility.
Pricing: Varies widely; typical CPM $2-10
| Platform | Reach | Targeting | ABM Focus | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900M professionals | Excellent | Good | High (custom pricing) | Brand awareness, consideration | |
| Terminus | Programmatic reach | Very good | Excellent | Mid (Custom pricing) | Account-based advertising |
| Rollworks | Programmatic reach | Good | Excellent | Mid (Custom pricing) | Mid-market ABM |
| 6sense | Programmatic reach | Excellent | Excellent | High (custom) | Enterprise ABM |
| Demandbase | Programmatic reach | Excellent | Excellent | Very high (custom) | Enterprise ABM |
| Google Ads | Largest (search) | Very good | Limited | Mid (custom pricing) | Demand capture |
| YouTube | Large video audience | Good | Limited | Low ($0.25-4/view) | Video awareness |
| Outbrain/Taboola | Large (content) | Limited | Limited | Low (custom pricing) | Brand awareness |
For awareness: YouTube, display networks, or trade publications. Focus on reach and engagement.
For consideration and comparison: LinkedIn or industry content platforms. Focus on educating buying committees.
For demand capture: Google Ads search. Focus on people actively searching for solutions.
For account-based campaigns: LinkedIn Matched Audiences, Terminus, or Rollworks. Focus on coordinated messaging to target accounts.
Measure B2B advertising success using:
Most B2B advertising campaigns target pipeline and revenue impact, not just leads or impressions.
Account-based approach: Identify your target accounts first, then buy advertising to reach them on multiple channels.
Multi-channel coordination: Use multiple channels (LinkedIn, display, video) in a coordinated approach. Account-based advertising is most effective when coordinated across channels.
Personalization: Deliver different messaging to different buying committee roles. What resonates with a CFO differs from what resonates with an engineer.
Continuous optimization: Test different targeting, messaging, and creative. Use results to optimize budget allocation.
B2B advertising has evolved from general-market awareness to account-based, role-specific, multi-channel campaigns. For brand awareness, LinkedIn and YouTube. For account-based campaigns, Terminus, Rollworks, or specialized platforms. For demand capture, Google Ads.
The best B2B advertising programs coordinate multiple channels around account lists and buying committee roles. Start with one or two channels, measure results, then expand based on performance.
Ready to launch account-based advertising campaigns? Schedule a demo with Abmatic to learn how to coordinate advertising with account identification and intent signals for maximum impact.
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